Straight Outta Appalachia

Master mandolinist Jeff Midkiff and young bluegrass artist Ashley Lewis combine their unique and diverse styles to create an exhilarating brand of string music.

Moving from mandolin to fiddle to clarinet with ease, Midkiff adds his knowledge of classical, jazz and western swing to each instrument. Getting his first mandolin at age 7, Midkiff started winning mandolin competitions around his Appalachian hometown before reaching his teens. A few decades later – after adding his skills to bluegrass bands and getting his Master's Degree in clarinet – he's still churning out music from his Carpentersville home base.

Midkiff's bandmate and young protégé, mandolinist Ashley Lewis, shares the passion for Appalachia. Though she hails from Sandwich, Lewis holds close her family's Kentucky roots. Adding a modern zest to a traditional sound whenever she plays with her band, Ashton Gap, she's comfortable crooning the bluegrass standards as well as penning powerful original songs.